Celestron 18774-CGL PowerTank 7, 12V -7Ah, Black

I have bought both the Power Tank 17 , and it's little brother (though this may be harder to find). Before my review points, please remember to charge the Power Tank after use. Don't let it get go flat, after multiple uses. It may have many Watts of power left, after each use but is a sealed Lead/Acid battery at its core. This needs a little care and time to charge after each use to keep it in prime condition. Even a top-up charge of a few hours, is recommended if not used for a few months. Note that there is a "back door" flap containing the "Cigarette lighter" cable. This is not always well mentioned. Don't go out and buy that. Unless you need another 12V outlet. It is great that there are 2 "Cigarette Lighter" sockets, but it is important to know that they are Not The Same. One is centre Negative (-ve), the other is centre Positive (+ve). For my Celestron C8, it is the right-hand; centre Positive. So if you think the Power Tank isn't working, for your appliance, try the other one ! Plus the great fuse protection provided, may need a quick check. If you are using this Power Tank for astronomy, the red light gives you the "night sight adaption", protection. You can change eyepieces and see what you are doing without any white light "dazzle". Excellent. The main beam is on a ratchet, so you can point it downwards, while walking around in the dark, great to avoid dips in the ground, tree roots etc, if out in the countryside. Which brings me to another point, that the Power Tank can be a great aid if camping/caravaning etc. I wouldn't get it wet, but when away from any mains supply, there are 2 x USB 1.5 Amp (5V) charging ports. Very usefull, for charging phones/tablets etc. I have even found the Power Tank a blessing in a power cut. Keeps a light on and phones etc running. There is the added joy of a radio on the Power Tank 17..... AM & FM ! Surprised by the tonal quality on both bands. Obviously keep volume appropriate to where you are. And then... The Siren Setting ! Who thought of that ? Initially surprised by this lovely fun function, but could be Really handy if someone is lost or needs to get attention when out camping, in a dark observing site etc. I think that the price, is fair, for such well thought-out and good capacity device. You get what you pay for. I recommend it for astronomers, with portable motorised telescopes as myself, and to all others with a need for portable power. Nice One Celestron !

Be aware that this appears to be a later version of the Power Tank. There is no 3,6,9 volt output now but in it's place are two USB charging sockets. The small torch has a krypton bulb with a handy red cover to retain night vision. The larger lamp is an LED array which is quite bright and can swivel down. All in all this is still a very nice unit even without the 3 to 9v outputs (I already have a multiple output adaptor that will plug into one of the 12v sockets and these are quite cheap anyway). Still give it 5 stars as it is great for my Celestron Nexstar 127SLT. One other thing, definitely not for starting a car with a flat battery although the two big terminals on the back may come in handy.

My comment isn't so much that this product excels, so much as the thing it replaces does not. Celestron supplies scopes with a default battery pack which, frankly, eats batteries. Perhaps, just perhaps, the trickle current consumed when the scope is OFF, but still connected is more than I expected, but nevertheless all capacity concerns I had were solved once I had the powertank here. I've used it half a dozen times for an hour or so at a time without needing to recharge yet.

Great. product and super essential for serious powered telescope owners like me. However one added bonus feature is the ability to charge a flat car battery. Not jump start but transfer charge from this battery to your cars. One dangerous point to note... as proudly and clearly stated in the instructions, this function is available weather the operating switches are on or off... that's right... it's always live and with washers around the terminals and no rubber caps, they are eternally exposed to stretched out fingers and a nasty 12v electrical shock. I have put my meter across them to test this and opened the case to disconnect this function permanently. This same model is also available with other branding and equally without which the latter reduces the price considerably... but beware the bonus car charge function. Some insulation tape will do but when connecting cables you will forget until you get a shock. Even short out the charger itself.! The next model up includes a radio but only one 12v socket so compromises are abound if you want to power the Scope controller and a dew shield... most necessary in the UK. I have also. modified the large torch with red film so setting up without losing my night vision is a thing of the past.... Overall a great buy... BUT don't kill yourself....seruously...get it professionally protected or disconnected.

Feels like a premium and robust power tank able to power a demanding mount for a few hours. I am not given the chance to take it out and try its capabilities yet, but I will definitely update my review, if the item does not meet my expectations.

Comes complete with adapter for connecting to telescope, even though it says that it doesn’t. Works well and if the motor speed is affected, then it doesn’t impact performance.

Only used a few times for Astrophotography as not many clear nights this year. Charged it up and it only lasted just over an hour. Not any good for out in the fields. Poor battery.

Bought two of these (£43) in Jan 2007 to run my telescopes etc. They were excellent, plenty of power to run LX8 and LX12 and lasted most of the night. Very easy to charge, great to have a fuze as a safety backup as well, yes they took a few hours to charge but with two I never encountered any problems. Unfortunately, the first one stopped accepting a charge back in early 2011 and the second in 2014. The 2014 one, nearly 7 years I though was reasonable but not the 2011, less than four years seemed far to short a lifespan. I still have them both as bricks in my shed, can't bring myself to dump them. :-)

Es ist ein toller Akku von Celestron. Ich habe ihn jetzt schon mehrere Nächte in Folge genutzt um mein Teleskop mit Strom zu versorgen sowie div. Anbauteile wie mein WLAN Adapter und das StarSense. Die erste Ladezeit war heftig mit. 16Std aber dann die nächste waren nur 10Std. Der Akku hält 2 Nächte auch bei hohen Minustemperaturen. Preisleistung ist mehr als gut.

Purchased to power a Nexstar 8 SE, this item is highly versatile. Not only does it power the telescope, it also offers a variety of other uses. As advertised, it has two flashlights. One big LED spotlight and a smaller light with a red cap aimed at preserving night vision. There are 2 twelve volt cigarette lighter receptacles and two 5v USB ports to recharge smart phones. Be advised however that there are no 3, 6 and 9 volt receptacles. These have been replaced by the USB ports. The tank can also be used to boost a weak car battery, a definite plus if the need arises. All in all, a very useful item for astronomy and a wide range of other uses. Highly recommanded

I buy it to use it with my telescope setup and it just consumed all the power in less than 1 hour at full charge Really useless and not worth it

se c'e scritto celestron o altra marca sono tutti uguali cambia il prezzo ! io hoo il 17 ah da molti mesi marca sconosciuta , e ultimamente ho preso questo, deve arrivare ,come riserva perche' sono rimasto a secco per non aver ricaricato il mio per 2 mesi il power tank , come ho scritto di risposta a un acquirente il power va sempre ricaricato ad ogni uso , ci ho rimesso 45 euro piu ho dovuto smontare tutto , rimontare non e' facile e non tornena piu' come prima , come strumento e' buono e costa uguale al power fai da te , carina la torcia a luce rossa che si toglie e ha un cavo anche buono in lunghezza , basta girala e estrarla , comode le uscite da 5 V , ultimamente sono rimasto senza carica al cellulare e sono servite ! credo che questo 7ah sia anche meno pesante del 17 ah , la durata del mio power tank 17ah acceso a casa e' stata di tre giorni ! con la luce grande accesa e qualche volta anche la radio , questo che non mi piace di questo power , che ci fai con la radio e la sirena , fa tutto l'apparato meno serio , anche i poli per caricare la batteria della macchina , sul mio c'e' scritto che , non essendo un strarter , devi aspettare 20 minuti ! MA!!!, comunque e' consigliato per non fare casini con la corrente ,una montaura seria costa ...allora , e' arrivar con molto anticipo e ho notato che il contenitore e' molto piccolo , una volta aperto il cavo per il collegamento al telescopio non entra più , anzi consiglio di non metterlo dentro perché si perde , lo sportello chiude male e non c'entra neanche il caricatore , avrei voglia di togliere una stella ! Confronto al 17ah è molto Più piccolo e leggero . Peccato che ad oggi è aumentato circa il doppio !!! Ne avrei preso un altro .

Well, it looks like a tank anyway. I camp out a lot. As such I've grown to appreciate having a power box available for the times I'm plop-camping (or "glamping"). I used to take a jump box with me, but I always felt a little funny (and inefficient) about something with attached jumper cables. Enter the Celestron Power Tank. Yes, it's intended to support the use of a telescope. But it can do oh so much more. For instance, there are two cigarette lighter plugs (I'm old enough where I can call them that). Plug in a suitable power inverter and you have a power outlet you can use to, say, inflate an air mattress. Two USB ports lets you charge your stuff. And there is a mack daddy spotlight on it. So it works. And as there are a two terminals on the back, with jumper cables I could theoretically use jumper cables with this. I also appreciate the off/on/charge switch...it makes it very clear what I'm doing, and it enables me to keep the unit plugged in without charging it. This is important as the instructions tell you to charge it regularly when in storage. Much easier to flip a switch while it's already plugged in, instead of unraveling a charging cable (after you spend twenty minutes looking for it) and plugging it in. The light is quite bright and can angle down. I really kind of wish it angled in all directions though, as I was using this as a tent light (and thus pointed straight up) but it kept tipping. Charging this at first use is unclear - on one hand (the printed directions) you're told to charge it for 14-16 hours out of the box, but on the unit itself you're told to charge it for 24 hours. You are then cautioned against overcharging it lest explosive gasses are generated and it explodes or something. Your takeaway - this is a easy to use and solid performer for times when you need a versatile power box. It's not overly heavy as jump boxes tend to be, it has a clever on/off/charge switch, and the light is plenty powerful for normal use. This is a winner.